I use all shearwell, tags. Stick reader, mobile app and nlmd website. I can't fault it. Bluetooth weigh head works really well. Its very cheap at only £30 per year for the software. It can't do everything a full on program will do but very very nearly does everything i need. 2 things missing are service details and management number for cattle. I can put up with that but i nearly wish it cost a bit more and they had more cash to develop it further.
EID tag reader and software
- Thread starter Barn
- Start date
- Location
- Cornwall
@ewebarn after alot of looking around and head scratching we have gone with the Alflex RS420 stick reader and the iLivestock app on an iPad. And I have to say that so far i am very impressed with the stick reader and the iLivestock App. We have only been using the system since Christmas but have recorded and lamb linked all our December lambing ewes and currently recording all our February lambers. We use it for all breeding records, Med Recs, drafting and growth rate recording. @iLivestock
- Location
- Co Down UK
I would expect it to be compatible with both. In the settings menu of the awr300 set online mode to on. Then it should just send the eid into whatever is currently coonected. Simple way to test. Download a demo of whatever your considering. Set awr300 to online mode. In awr300 choose Bluetooth in the interface option in settings. Search and connect to you phone or whatever you've installed the demo to and scan a tag. We also supply the awr300. With your awr300 you should have received a link to download free software which lets you record a full range of management data without having to Bluetooth to any other device. The free software downloads to spreadsheet format. If you want all bells and whistles software our selectsheepware does the the bells and whistles job - it's not free.
Barn
Member
Bullabong Did the AWR300 work with shearwell app? Still yet to make my mind up quite a big investment and want to get it right, keep umming and arringg.....
- Location
- Co Down UK
Ewebarn, question is why do you want an app, when the AWR300 already does the recording. why hold a stick reader in one hand and something else in the other with an app, when you only need to hold the stick reader in your hand? in the AWR300, there is a Tasks option in the menu. This allows you to choose from a list of 9 tasks, which cover most of the management recording which you're likely to want to record. If you want to use an app, go for the cheapest Bluetooth stick reader you can find which doesn't have the capability of doing the recording in the actual stick. Tasks are like general headings, e.g. add/remove. Within this, you can select Add, Purchase, Sale, Death, etc, so there is actually something like 25 different management events catered for in total. It's very simple. Many people don't realise that the AWR is as powerful as it is. Birth entry for example, has a drop down list for birth difficulty, drop down list for motherability, drop down list for breed, sex, lamb weights etc. I can't see an app having anything significant more to offer. AWR also has a good database which shows the animal details, - sire, dam, batch group .... the last 6 weights, last medicines .....
sheep_farmer
New Member
I use Shearwell Farmworks with Stock recorder and can't really fault it.. Tried Allflex system but it was pretty micky mouse compared to Shearwell.
As I wrote in another post
"I use Farmworks with the stock recorder from Shearwell. Definately not a cheap option but is an excellent management tool/record keeper/reporting system. Try to think about loosing a chunk of your BPS if your records aren't correct, and say to yourself I can offset that against the cost of the system so really it' not so expensive!! Still expensive but might make you feel better "
Support is brilliant. One comment would be that if you are planning to add Dams, Sires and Lambs at lambing time although it is straightforward to do you might want to try to add the Dams before you start lambing if you are expecting to be busy!!
As I wrote in another post
"I use Farmworks with the stock recorder from Shearwell. Definately not a cheap option but is an excellent management tool/record keeper/reporting system. Try to think about loosing a chunk of your BPS if your records aren't correct, and say to yourself I can offset that against the cost of the system so really it' not so expensive!! Still expensive but might make you feel better "
Support is brilliant. One comment would be that if you are planning to add Dams, Sires and Lambs at lambing time although it is straightforward to do you might want to try to add the Dams before you start lambing if you are expecting to be busy!!
Harlesford
New Member
Recently purchased an awr300 and the TGM select sheep software and I have been very impressed with it and the support and back up from TGM. It is easy to use in the field and you can imput all the date onto the stick reader then just download it when you get back inside onto the laptop. Very straightforward and no need to have your phone and app in hand you just directly input onto the stick reader. Our first year of collecting data and I'm very impressed and looking forward to seeing the benefits of it as a management tool in the future. TGM have been very helpful and patient with me to help set it all up and are on the end of the phone if any issues or querries arise. Which is great piece of mind.
@ewebarn I tried to connect the reader to the shearwell app on my iphone for some reason I couldn't get this to work I then tried it on an android tablet and managed to get it working, I haven't had the time to try it out much but from the few tags I had it seems to work, I'm still in two minds whether to persevere with the sheep program we already have or change to something else. I would recommend the awr300, I think it's a good starter reader for recording without going for the more expensive psion.
- Location
- Cornwall
@ewebarn we have been using @iLivestock app adn the Alflex reader and find it brilliant and the online support from iLivestock is excellent. Does everything we need it to do from avg daily weight gains, drafting on any number of options 20 options, breed, age, sex, min/max weight. has a feature to record scan results as you are scanning. will record birthing records with info like ease of birthing, ewe milk, prolapse, mastitis etc. you can put alert warnings on problem sheep for when it comes to culling. The Alflex stick reader is extremely robust and easy to use, as is the app.
We are very impressed.
We are very impressed.
- Location
- north Wales
I'm using shearwell stick reader and phone app to record my lleyns, it's fine for that as there are only 150 ewes, but phone is useless if it's raining
- Location
- Co Down UK
We also supply our own Android app, but we have no users using it linked to a stick reader, for 2 reasons. 1 the stick reader does all the recording including all the motherability traits etc, so why go to the bother of bluetoothing it to another device, making a one handed task into a two handed task, and secondly, the average phone is not robust, waterproof and difficult to read in bright sunlight. So our users would typically use the app to record a birth - you're close enough to the ewe to read its tag. Import of the data from the app will automatically add in the extra EID digits, if you only enter the last 5 for the lambs tag numbers. Other uses for the app - you need to know something about a sheep right now and you don't have the stick reader in your pocket - full life history of the sheep are in the app, so you can look up what you need to know (searching by the last few digits of tag number). Then finally, small flocks with only a few sheep who find it difficult to justify the cost of any EID reader - they can use the app and work with reading the visible numbers (only the last few digits does the job) allowing full access to extensive recording, at low cost.
- Location
- Cornwall
@TGM Will your reader for example, We are lambing 100 outside next month, All ewes have been recorded into @iLivestock app with sire/scan result and paint number. when the ewe lambs in the field we can weigh/tag and record the lambs in the field and find the ewe just from the spray number. We are using an Ipad in a griffin box, its been stood on by ewes and myself dropped in the mud numeros times and still going strong. tried many different apps, and readers as i dont like parting with my hard earned cash.
- Location
- Co Down UK
No doubt you're sorted. You've found the solution that works for you and records what you need. The solid robust boxes I think are as good or better than the expensive robust handheld devices.
- Location
- Co Down UK
Hi fixersteve26, i don't think i quite answered your question last time. the answer is yes, the stick reader will find ewes just from the spray number and it can record sire from a drop down selection, scan result from a drop down selection. It's an interesting stick as it will work with both EID and sprayed on numbers. Lambs can be given a sprayed on number at birth and an EID later, which can be correlated to the spray number so the link to the mother doesn't get lost. For easycare lambing, ewes can be identified by spray number from a distance, then lambs picked up and tagged and the lambs' eids read - the connections are then made between mother and lambs without having to come within a few metres of the mother. That's not to say your solution with waterproof box isn't a good one - it is - i used waterproof boxes in the past in the old Palm PDA days. Just that with the stick, especially for larger flocks, the one device does all - you don;t have to carry a stick in one hand and a device with an app one it in the other.
Boydvalley
Member
- Location
- Bath
I have shearwell supplied psion which has a tag reader made by agrident fixed on top. Would think it would depend on whether the software is compatible with it. Or a stick reader and connect by Bluetooth.